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Tell us about your company and specifics on your product/service.
Xcarab was founded in 2001 by a core team of technologists who wanted to extend the technical lifestyles and collaborative development we enjoyed. Today we offer a number of technology management and consulting services, from full application design and development to a question and answer session.
We have expertise in a number of areas but focus our efforts into three main groups
:
- Web and Application development, where we help customers design and develop the web based solutions that drive their organizations. As part of this solution we offer hosting and support as well as the development team.
- Technical Consulting, which is primarily marketing support for our clients. We help them package, target, and communicate their solution. Our clients like to have a technical resource contribute to the sales and marketing effort to keep messages on point for the community.
- Virtualization; our team has been using and extending virtual machines and virtual infrastructures since we started. We currently support a number of global virtualization initiatives, with different clients and are always looking at different ways the technology helps us and our clients.
How many employees do you represent?
10
Who are your clients/customers?
Xcarab enjoys the full range of technical puzzles and as such working with the full range of clients from the very small to the very large.
- Ambassador Programs Inc
- Arena Sports
- Cablevision (Independent Film Channel)
- Corvent LLC
- Entirenet
- Microsoft
- Royal Bliss
What makes your organization unique?
Agility and flexibility; not only in our service and solution practice but also in our mindset. Being a small team means our clients have great exposure to our resources and our expertise, which allows us to move when they do or when their customers do. Agile is not just a practice it’s a philosophy and we bring that with us into each engagement.
Who would you say are your main competitors?
Because of our size we don’t really compete with the larger service players in the area on a project by project basis. We normally find ourselves getting involved to supplement and work alongside their teams to share our expertise or specialty skills on a project. Beyond that there are a number of small development shops with both similar and different skillets that we might compete with but we also view them as potential collaborators. We often reach out to bring them into a project and vice-versa, at the end of the day it is about the customer getting what they need so they can continue being a customer.
What sets you apart from your competitors?
There is our expertise, and our experience, but most importantly we adopt our customer’s project. We work to understand the business objectives and measure our success as “our” success.
How have you strategically responded to the competition?
- By continuing to learn. We are students of technology and of business. As the customer changes the industry and its models change with it. By actively seeking clients of all sizes and participating in the community we stay aware of the market and the technology; so we can offer our clients the right solution when they need it.
- By incorporating virtualization into our processes. This allows us and our clients to experience the level of flexibility necessary to compete.
What challenges do you anticipate in the industry/company?
- Resources are always a challenge and finding and keeping a talented team together and growing is a large one.
- Platform diversification is another; from native to hosted to mobile there are so many different ways to connect and consume content. Keeping up with these changes so our customers can stay ready is a challenge.
What risks will your company face due to industry changes?
Companies are more and more moving to outsourcing and getting comfortable with relying on outsourced resources as part of their core competency. We need to prepare for this trend to continue so we can manage the risks associated with growth, resources and new talented firms offering outsourced services.
Where will the major source of your business be in the next 5 years?
Content and service delivery through emerging technologies such as Microsoft Silverlight. We hope to be able to help clients change the way their customers experience their services.
What are the best opportunities at your company for new hires?
We are always looking for application developers experienced with .NET who enjoy a great deal of collaboration and technical freedom. We are also adding project and account managers looking to grow a team or service.
How long has your company been a member of the Washington Technology Industry Association? Why did you join the WTIA?
We joined in 2001, to take advantage of the insurance and payroll benefits. We have only recently started to take advantage of the community resources as well.
What value do you see in being a member of the Washington Technology Industry Association to meet goals for your organization?
The WTIA is the community hub for our industry. It is the best way for us to stay in touch with the market and what is happening in the community. The WTIA is the best Pub on the block.
For more information, please contact Xcarab Inc. at http://www.xcarab.com/ or 425.939.9681.
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